6:29 PM,
Dec. 20, 2013

Edward 'Pastor Paul' Gonnella preaches Nov. 11 to homeless people and volunteers gathered around the St. Louis riverfront.

Written by

Joel Currier
St. Louis Post-Dispatch

The setting sunlight shoots through the gaps in the freight cars rolling behind Edward "Pastor Paul" Gonnella as he skims highlighted passages in his tattered, black Bible.

Nearby, steam swirls from tables lined with stockpots of mostaccioli, chili and pot roast. A line builds as volunteers hand out bread, salad and a sea of colorful desserts.

It's a similar scene every Monday night at the foot of a shuttered, graffiti-washed train depot in St. Louis. It's where Gonnella and fellow volunteers who make up the Churches on the Streets ministry have pledged to offer the city's homeless ...